DEEPX, an ultra-low-power on-device artificial intelligence (AI) chip company, is expanding product distribution in the Japanese market in partnership with Japanese technology distributor Koshidaka Tech.
DEEPX said Wednesday it signed a strategic partnership agreement with Koshidaka Tech at the distributor's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly work to spread DEEPX's neural processing unit (NPU) product lineup to local industrial sites, aiming to expand the use and distribution of edge AI in the Japanese market.
Founded in 1930, Koshidaka Tech is a Japanese technology distribution and solutions company that has operated across various industries including automotive, semiconductors, mobile phones, the Internet of Things (IoT), and AI. Under the agreement, Koshidaka Tech will handle project sourcing, product proposals, customer support, and supply expansion based on its customer network and market understanding in Japan. DEEPX plans to support local customers' product development and mass production by providing its NPU product lineup, software development environment, reference platforms, and technical support.
The partnership also strengthens DEEPX's global supply chain. DEEPX currently secures customer networks in key hubs including North America, Greater China, and Southeast Asia through partnerships with more than 20 global distributors such as Avnet, WPG, Macnica, Serial, Digital China, and Digi-Key.
Japan is one of the core markets DEEPX is focusing on. The country has strong competitiveness in manufacturing, robotics, automotive, industrial automation, and security and social infrastructure, while demand for unmanned and intelligent operations on the ground is growing due to an aging population and labor shortages. The market is assessed as having significant potential demand for edge AI chips, as there are many areas—factories, logistics centers, construction sites, security cameras, and urban infrastructure—where data must be processed on-site rather than sent to the cloud.
DEEPX's flagship NPU, the DX-M1, is an ultra-low-power AI chip based on a 5-nanometer process. Designed to target low-power operation in the range of 3 to 5 watts, it can be applied to security cameras, industrial computers, robots, drones, smart factory equipment, and edge servers.
"Our goal is to increase, one by one, the cases where DEEPX NPUs are commercialized at actual industrial sites through cooperation with our Japanese partner," DEEPX CEO Lokwon Kim said. "We will practically apply the ultra-low-power AI chip technology developed in Korea to global manufacturing and infrastructure sites."
Kei Koshida, director and executive officer of Koshidaka Tech, said, "There is growing demand to use AI at manufacturing sites and social infrastructure sites." He added, "Based on Koshidaka Tech's network and market knowledge in Japan, we will pursue project orders and business expansion with DEEPX."
